


Meddling Sometimes Ends In The Best Ways

by AggressiveStress



Series: Larry Stylinson One-Shots [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Love, M/M, One-Shot, fluffy larry, it was getting up to fifteen pages, larry stylinson - Freeform, okay, sorry about the kind of rushed ending, thats not normal for a one-shot, why so much fluff these days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 04:26:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1155064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AggressiveStress/pseuds/AggressiveStress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One in which Louis Tomlinson is a nurse and his two little sisters, Daisy and Phoebe, introduce him to their teacher's assistant, Mr. Harry Styles. Basically, they meddle in Louis' love life and he couldn't be any happier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meddling Sometimes Ends In The Best Ways

“I like ice cream,” Daisy chirped, skipping along the sidewalk but careful not to step on any cracks.  _‘Step on a crack, break your mama's back,’_ she had told Louis when he asked her about it. It must’ve been an American thing. He calmly told Daisy that if she stepped on a crack, nothing would happen but Daisy didn’t believe him.  _‘You’re old, you wouldn’t understand,’_ she had huffed.

Louis rolled his eyes, “We aren’t getting ice cream, Daisy. I promised Mum we’d go straight home from your school.”

The pout and puppy eyes she gave Louis almost broke him;  _almost._ Then he quickly looked away and Daisy huffed, “You’re no fun. Lottie  _always_ buys me ice cream when there’s something at school to celebrate.” Louis didn’t know this, but he should’ve expected it.

“Is that so?” Louis glanced back down at Daisy, but she was staring down at the sidewalk, determined not to step on a crack. “But what’s there to celebrate? It’s  _school_.”

Daisy giggled, tugging Louis’ hand a bit to get him to slow before he stepped on a crack. “We got a new teacher! His name is Mr. Styles but he keeps telling us to call him Harry or Mr. Harry, but I told him  _That’s not proper manners, Mr. Styles_ and he told me  _But it means that we’re all friends. I’m not just your teacher._ He’s crazy in the head!” she declared; Louis laughed and avoided stepping on an oncoming crack. “Nice save, Lou!” Daisy grinned at him.

“And is Mr. Styles nice?”

“I suppose so. We didn’t talk much, but he did read some stories to us on the magic carpet! I like his voice a lot! And he gave me my snack at snack-time and told me to enjoy. That was nice, too, I think.”

Louis didn’t say anything for a while, concentrating on maneuvering around cracks to please his baby sister. Daisy kept a grip on his hand so he could tug her along when she slowed to look at a building or a bug on the sidewalk. It was always amusing picking up Daisy from school when Phoebe stayed after to play footie, Lottie was holed up in the library to study for whatever test she had, and Fizzy was somewhere with her current boyfriend (not that she ever bothered to tell Louis where they went; she only spoke to their Mum and Lottie about it). On regular days, Lottie was the one that would walk the twins home, but Louis figured he could do it since he was currently in town for another month or so.

“You should meet him,” Daisy suddenly said, making Louis look down at her.

He furrowed his eyebrows, “Who?”

“Mr. Styles! I think he likes boys too!” she giggled.

“And how would you know that, Dais?”

“Because Mr. Grimshaw came over and Mr. Styles was blushing and saying funny things whenever Mr. Grimshaw talked to him. It was really funny! But also kinda sad. I don’t like seeing people nervous, Lou. Did you know that? ‘Cause they get all sweaty and red in the face like they’re going to  _explode!_ It’s so scary!”

Louis hummed and Daisy kept talking although Louis’ thoughts were now somewhere else. Mr. Grimshaw was an ass, Louis knew. Only one had Louis met the man and he instantly hated the way he swaggered around like he owned the entire school and how he grabbed womens’ hands to kiss the back of them. He almost kissed the back of Louis’ hand before Louis nearly smacked him away by simply yanking his hand away with a warning look. Louis had been in town and Phoebe was in trouble for something at school; Jay couldn’t make it to the conference so Louis offered the go as he was now old enough to step in. Mr. Nick Grimshaw happened to be Phoebe’s teacher; he just didn’t set well with Louis. Not at all.

“And why would I want to meet him?”

Daisy looked at Louis like he was the eight-year-old, “Because Mr. Styles is really cute, of course. I know you don’t care about cooties so maybe you and Mr. Styles can go on date night like Mummy and Dad!” the smile on her face was almost too accomplished for Louis’ liking; when did his eight-year-old sister start setting him up on dates?

Louis didn’t know what to say so he simply replied with, “I see.”

“So how about that ice cream?” Daisy inquired innocently after a bit of silence.

“Fine,” Louis gave in- it was bound to happen anyway- and he picked up his little sister despite her protests. “But we won’t make it in time if we keep walking like this.”

The entire trip to the ice cream shop, Daisy screamed whenever Louis stepped on a crack.

* * *

 Louis was none-too-pleased to be waken up by his four sisters jumping on his bed and singing some pop song at the very top of their lungs. He had agreed to stay with his family because he had been away for five years going to college in the states, but at this rate he might just run away because they were driving him insane. It took Jay coming in the room and scolding the girls before they clambered off his bed and rushed out of the room to get ready for school. Jay was particularly frightening at the moment; her pregnancy with another set of twins made her a bit more high strung than usual. When she got angry, it wasn’t pretty.

After getting ready for the day, Louis went downstairs to join his family for breakfast. They obviously weren’t used to sitting at the table in the mornings, but they did anyway. Jay was cooking when Louis walked in the room, Phoebe and Daisy were doing last-minute homework corrections, Lottie had a textbook open on the table beside her bowl of cereal, and Fizzy was painting her toenails with one hand and eating with the other. Louis’ stepfather was helping Daisy and Phoebe with their homework, obviously trying not to grab the crayon and do it himself because Daisy and Phoebe weren’t the most cooperative twins. Louis went to his mum first, kissing her on the cheek with a childish smile on his mouth.

“What are you up to this time?” Jay immediately asked when she saw the smile.

“I dunno what you’re talking about, Mum. I just wanted to say good morning to the most amazing woman in my life,” Louis was sneakily moving his hand towards the general direction of the bacon plate (shaped like bacon, looks like bacon, and they’ve had it since Louis was toddling around wearing overalls).

Jay rolled her eyes, “I’m the only woman in your life. What I’m waiting for is a young man in your life,” she winked playfully.

Louis groaned,  _not this talk again_ , “We are not having this talk right now.”

“Why not?” Jay whined, honestly sound like Daisy had the day before.

“Because...” Louis paused- bacon plate forgotten- scrambling for a better excuse than it was too early, “Because I’m walking the girls to school today!” Louis wanted to hit himself; what kind of  _shit_ excuse was that to get out of a conversation about relationships?

“You are?” all of his sisters asked skeptically.

“Yep!” Louis nodded, “Sibling bonding and all,” he waved his hand in the air as if it would emphasis whatever effect he was trying to have.

“Uh-huh,” Jay mentally rolled her eyes because her only son was shit at making excuses. “Well, alright then. Girls, eat quickly and then go get your shoes and backpacks; you’ll be late if you don’t leave in the next fifteen minutes.”

Louis looked down at his attire, incredibly aware that he couldn’t walk all the way to his sisters’ schools in sweatpants unless he wanted to freeze. He went upstairs and threw on a pair of his  black jeans, his favorite Killers t-shirt, black Vans, and then he brushed through his feathery hair before settling a beanie on his head. It was good enough for a walk, he supposed; at least he managed to squeeze a shower in earlier that morning while the other girls were preoccupied by picking out their outfits. He grabbed his denim jacket when he got back downstairs where his sisters were finished eating and now tying their shoes at the base of the stairs.

“Did you eat?” Jay asked Louis.

“Nah, I’ll just drop by a cafe or something on my way back.”

“Oh, right,” Fizzy said from the stairs, “You’re Mr. Big Bucks now, right? With your fancy-schmancy job and all.”

Louis looked at her like she was mental, “I’m a nurse, Fiz.”

“That still pays better money than being a mechanic,” Louis’ stepdad pipes up, chugging down the rest of his coffee. “Well, I’m off. Have a good day at school, girls.” He pecks Jay’s cheek saying something in her ear that made her giggle and blush like a schoolgirl. He tells everyone else goodbye before he leaves for work.

“Off you get, then,” Jay shepherds them out of the house, Daisy and Phoebe immediately reaching for Louis’ hands.

Lottie and Fizzy took the lead, Fizzy already going into a rant about how amazing her current boyfriend is. Louis tries his hardest not to clench his hands around one of his sisters’. Fizzy is not old enough to be dating, Louis thinks bitterly. She should be cooped up in her room with a book like Lottie always is. Or she should still be on the playground, running around with her friends and just staring longingly at boys, not actually approaching them and doing something about her little fancy that should fade in just a couple hours. But Fizzy seemed completely smitten, gushing about this boy with her cheeks bright red; Louis hopes to everything above that Fizzy doesn’t get her heart hurt... again.

“Did you tell LouLou about Mr. Styles?” Phoebe leaned forward to look in front of Louis and across at her twin who was holding Louis’ other hand. Daisy also leaned forward, nodding with a goofy smile on her face.

She chirped, “Sure did!”

Phoebe giggled, “Did you tell him how cute he is?”

“Sure did!” Daisy repeated.

Louis didn’t comment as they started to approach the corner that led to the front of Fizzy’s and Lottie’s school. The twins let go of Louis’ hands, getting farther in front of him and starting to whisper to each other. He waved Lottie and Fizzy off and they yelled their goodbyes and they separated from each other for their own group of friends; Louis watched a guy approach Fizzy to pull her into a hug. Louis could see the red of Fizzy’s cheeks from where he was. The boys’ arm stayed over Fizzy’s shoulders as they started walking over to Fizzy’s group of friends; they seemed to be pretty calm with the boy being there. There was no choice but to turn around when Phoebe tugged on his hand, claiming they would be late if Louis continued to stand there and spy.

“I wasn’t spying!” Louis protested quickly. The twins grinned cheekily and kept walking.

Halfway into the walk, Phoebe started whining loudly, “It’s  _so cold_!” she groaned, gripping Daisy’s hand and they suddenly stopped walking, huddling together. Phoebe shivered dramatically; Louis blamed himself for letting Phoebe watch him rehearse for all his school plays a few years ago. She like to exaggerate just a bit.

“What are you doing? You’re gonna be late!”

Daisy shuddered, looking up at Louis with her big blue eyes. “But we’re  _cold_.”

“I can see that, babe, but you’re both gonna be late and Mum will have my ass- I mean butt.”

“OOOOH!” Phoebe pointed at him like he was the devil himself. “You said a potty word! You said a potty word!” And, just Louis’ luck, Daisy took her sister’s example and started chanting with her, “Lou said a potty word! Louis said a potty word!”

Louis ran a hand down his face, muttering about how he would never have children if this is the result. “Okay, okay, okay! Shush up! Here, use my jacket,” he shrugged off his jean jacket and draped it over their already jacket clad shoulders. They immediately shut their mouths and then looked down at Daisy’s pink princess watch; Phoebe nodded at her twin then looked back at Louis with a smile on her face.

“Alrighty then, we can go now. Before we’re late,” she said.

Giving them a suspicious look, Louis wondered if he should be worried. All these shared looks and tiny giggles were really spooking him out. “Okay...” he gave them one last weary look before following them; they huddled into Louis’ jacket as if it actually was thick enough to keep them warm when it was actually really thin and more for fashion than anything.

When they arrived at the twins’ school, the bell was already going off and he knew the twins were late. He moaned to himself when the twins informed him that he would have to come inside and sign them in at the front office. The lady behind the desk looked up as soon as they entered the office. She gave Louis a skeptical eye the entire time he signed the form that was required to be filled out so he could check the girls in late. Once she took the form from him, she made him a temporary sticker ID because Louis also had to walk the girls to their classes and explain to their teachers why they were late. Phoebe and Daisy exchanged a fist bump when Louis was too busy fixing his ID to his Killers shirt to notice.

“This way!” Phoebe tugged on Louis’ hand, leading him down one of the multi-colored hallways of the school. This was nothing like his school, he remembered when he looked around at the artwork hung on the walls and the colorful paints and all of the  _windows_. “You can talk to Mr. Grimshaw first because we’re painting today and I  _need_  to be in there!”

Louis groaned aloud, not wanting to put up with Nick’s shit right now. But he didn’t say a word, casually humming and acting interested in what the girls were yammering on about (something about peanut butter and worms- Louis really didn’t want to know). Phoebe eventually stopped in front of a door and she politely knocked on the hazy window in the door. Nick Grimshaw opened the door, clad in some khakis that Louis knew killed Nick’s hipster cover. Even though he was obviously uncomfortable in the pants, he looked down at Phoebe with a nice smile, but it quickly changed when he looked up and saw Louis standing there. The smile that took place on his face gave Louis chills down to his toes.

“Well, look who it is,” Mr. Grimshaw grinned flirtingly. “And how’ve you been, Mr. Tomlinson?”

“Just fine, thanks,” Louis said curtly. He gestured down to Phoebe, “I was walking them to school but we got caught up at the red-lights and had to take a different way. My apologies for disturbing your class,” every word burned Louis’ throat. He really just wanted to drop Daisy off and then hurry to a cafe somewhere to get a bite to eat as he was stupid enough to blow off the breakfast his mum offered him.

Nick waved his hand around in the air, “No harm, no foul. Come on in, dear.”

Phoebe grinned and ducked out of her half of Louis’ jacket; Daisy slid her arms into the sleeves and she giggled when the sleeves went way past her hands and the bottom of the jacket went past her knees. “Thank you, Mr. Grimshaw,” Louis nodded at him once.

“Oh, please,” once again, Nick waved his hand around. Louis wanted to stomp on that hand. “Call me Nick. We’ve been  _over_ this.”

“I know. Good day, sir. Have a nice day Phoebe.”

“Bye LouLou!” Phoebe waved lightly then rushed over to join her friends in painting.

Nick watched as Louis placed his hand on Daisy’s shoulder, telling her to lead the way. Daisy only went down two doors before she stopped and knocked, rocking on her heels and trying to look as innocent as possible. Nick huffed, realizing that Louis would be meeting the one and only Harry Styles and that was not okay. Not at all. Mr. Niall Horan was the one that opened the door, though, a big silly grin on his face that Louis was instantly glad to see after dealing with Nick that morning. It was like Niall expected it was Daisy because he was already looking down at her and Daisy smiled back, front tooth gap and all.

“Good morning, Miss Daisy! And where have you been?”

Daisy ignored the question and instead tugged on Louis’ hand, trying to pull him into the classroom. “No time for talk, Mr. Horan. This is LouLou, my brother. He’s here to meet Mr. Styles,” Daisy stated.

Niall looked at Louis and he was as shocked as Louis was. When it finally deemed on Louis, he moaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “ _That’s_ what your episode was about this morning. You weren’t cold and throwing a fit, you were trying to be late so I would have to walk you to class.”

“Well, that was very clever of you, Daisy.” Louis’ jaw almost hit the floor because Niall was encouraging her in her meddling antics. “It’s nice to meet you, LouLou,” Niall snickered a bit, holding out a hand.

“It’s just Louis,” Louis shook Niall’s hand then looked down at Daisy. “I’m leaving now.”

“WHAT?!” Daisy screamed, grabbing onto Louis’ hand like it was her only lifesaver, “You can’t leave! We had it all planned out! Come on! You have to meet him, LouLou! You just have to!”

The kids in the classroom were starting to take notice of the scene playing out. They turned in their seats, eyes blown wide while they watched Daisy desperately cling to Louis’ leg. She was chanting over and over that he just couldn’t leave and that he just had to meet her  _“really, super cute young teacher”_. Louis rubbed a hand down his face because it was Daisy’s first day of kindergarten  _all over again_ , but she was holding on for a different reason then. He tried to pry her hands away, whispering under his breath that she was causing a scene but she didn’t care. Niall had disappeared, apparently, and Louis looked up when the door to the classroom opened and shut. Beside Niall was another, younger guy that was smiling genuinely until he saw the scene Daisy was causing.

“You’re embarrassing yourself,” Louis groaned, desperately trying to tug her way because damn his sister had a grip.

The younger guy was watching, his eyes trained on Louis. Louis glanced up and managed to make out chocolate brown curls and emerald eyes that made Louis’ stomach twist and turn, but he tried to blame it on his hunger. This boy wasn’t wearing khakis, instead settling for some nice black jeans that were so tight they were sinful, and Louis wondered how he managed to pull those strings. He was very tall, Louis noticed, and he was definitely handsome; Louis looked back down at Daisy before his thoughts got too out of hand.

Niall yelled quickly, “Look! It’s Harry!”

Daisy instantly let go and turned to the younger man with a grin. “Finally! Come ‘ere, Mr. Styles,” she ran over to grab the man’s hand, pulling him over to Louis. “LouLou, Mr. Styles. Mr. Styles this is LouLou,” then she dropped her voice to a whisper and said, “It’s okay. He likes boys too.”

The shade of red that flushed Mr. Styles’ cheeks turned his entire face into a tomato. “Hi, LouLou,” Harry smiled a little.

“Hi,” Louis replied, directing his gaze away from Harry’s cheekbones, “Mr. Styles.”

“It’s Harry actually.”

“And I’m Louis, actually.”

“Alright kids!” Mr. Horan exclaimed, dragging their eyes away from Louis and Harry. “Let’s start our maths, yeah?!” he wasn’t surprised when some of his students cheered and immediately ran for their maths board. Others trailed behind, including Daisy, who tugged on Louis’ hand first so he could kiss her head, take his jacket, and wish her a good day at school.

Harry smiled hesitantly when Louis straightened again, slipping on his jacket. “I should probably be working...” Harry trailed off, another coat of red taking over his cheeks.

Louis laughed sheepishly, “Yeah, and I’d better leave. Gotta grab breakfast on my way home.”

“Will you, uh, be, um, picking Daisy up after, uh, school?”

The stuttering made Louis’ insides burn. Why is this boy so freaking cute? “Um, she actually takes the bus home with her twin...”

“Oh, okay. Yeah. Right.” Harry nervously raked his fingers through his hair, cursing under his breath when one of his rings got caught in the strands. He started tugging but it wasn’t doing much of anything to help; Louis stopped him before he tore hair from his head.

“You’re goin’ to hurt yourself, mate,” Louis chuckled lightly.

He was short, Harry noticed when Louis had to stand on his toes to get a good look at Harry’s ring in his hair. A few short tugs, quite a few apologies, and Harry’s arm starting to hurt later, Louis went back onto his feet. They were silent for a second, both wanting to ask for the other’s number but being too nervous to do it. What is wrong with me? Louis scolded himself. He is not supposed to get nervous; he’s supposed to ask for what he wants dammit. He opened his mouth to do just that, but the complete opposite of what he wanted to say ended up coming out instead.

“I should go. For real this time,” Louis wanted to throw himself off a tree and into cow dung.

Harry looked disappointed for point seven seconds until he nodded. “Yeah, right. Totally,” he nodded and started to move towards the maths board where the kids were working. “Bye, Louis.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Styles,” Louis put on his jacket and left without another word.

* * *

Louis wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out, but he couldn’t. He sat in a cafe, three days after his meeting with Mr. Harry Styles and he was regretting never even  _trying_ to get the boys’ number. Scratching his fingernail across the tabletop, Louis wondered if it would be too weird for him to go back just to get the younger boys’ number. He decided that, yeah, that would definitely be weird. Not to mention Daisy would probably tell his mum all about it later at home, explaining how Louis showed up at her class just to talk to her teacher. Yeah, Louis definitely wanted to hit himself now. Then he could crawl in a hole and never come out. Seems like a plan, Louis thought bitterly to himself.

“Louis?” a voice asked and Louis silently pleaded that this was the cliche part where he’d look up and see Harry. But Louis looked up and instead saw his old best friend, Zayn Malik, standing by his table with coffee in hand.

“Zayn,” Louis greeted half-heartedly, standing to give his mate a quick hug.

For a second, Zayn hesitated but then he sat down in the booth across from Louis, mug in hands. “I didn’t know you were back in town. Thought you’d forget about this place once you became some fancy schmancy doctor. I know I would’ve forgotten it if Perrie wasn’t here.” Zayn laughed, rolling his eyes.

“Why does everyone assume I have some high-paying job?”

“You went to the states for Uni, Lou. No one does that unless they want a really fancy job.”

Louis huffed but he smiled, “I’m just a part-time nurse in the states right now. It really isn’t high-paying at all. I barely had enough to pay for the flight home. Mum’s trying to convince me to come home. She said the main doctor at Doncaster Hospital is quitting and they need a replacement as soon as possible. Said my resume would look amazing against all of the others turned in.”

“Well, she’s not lying. A states education is really big around here, you know that.”

“Of  _course_ I know that. But I spent five years in the states working for that. I can’t just drop everything and move back here.”

“You dropped everything to move to the states and you lived here since you were eighteen, what’s the difference?” And Louis had honestly never thought about it that way before. Leave it to Zayn to find the deepest point in everything and point it out to make others doubt themselves.

Louis didn’t say anything for a minute- he didn’t know what to say. Then, “What’re you doin’ here anyway?”

“Ironically, meeting an old pal. He ran out back to answer his phone a couple minutes ago.”

Louis nodded, raking his fingers through his hair that was quickly growing out. “My sisters are at home for the weekend and everything was just really loud, so I took a tea break,” Louis picked up his almost-empty mug as if to prove a point. Zayn looked thoughtful, tapping his fingers on the tabletop, head tilted a little.

“They always were a loud bunch, hm? Remember the picnic for our graduation?”

“Don’t remind me,” Louis moaned, burying his face in his hands. “It took me absolutely ages to get that out of my head and then you go and bring it up again.”

“It’s what I do. What can I say?”

The two had grown up together, Louis the elder one. They used to play in mud and Zayn would be Louis’ second in command when he was up to no good- which was almost always. Louis had a way of doing that, of dragging people into his antics because he makes it look easy and fun, but sometimes it was more of a death wish. Like when Louis climbed onto the top of the monkey bars, swinging his feet over the edge while the principal screamed at him to get down. Louis had seen Zayn passing and called him over; he scrambled onto the top with Louis when the principal was busy speaking to another teacher. When the principal turned back around to continue yelling, it was at both Louis and Zayn. Zayn had ended up almost falling off,  _almost_ breaking his arm, but Louis was most  _definitely_ in trouble when he got home.

Louis had kept in touch with Zayn the first couple of years he was in the states. But it was costly for international calls, so they resorted to the occasional letter instead. One night, Louis just didn’t write back and that seemed to really end it for a while. But the boys always found a way to come back to each other like when Zayn went to band camp so Louis begged and pleaded with his mum to let him go, too. When his mum said no, Louis snuck out of the house and packed himself into one of Zayn’s suitcases- he had always been small for his age. The look on Zayn’s face when Louis popped out of his suitcase that night was one Louis wished he could’ve captured forever. He had never seen Zayn so freaked out before.

“Zayn? Louis?” a new voice suddenly appeared and this time Louis knew the voice. He knew it because of the way his stomach instantly tumbled all the way to his feet. When he looked up, Harry was standing there awkwardly like he walked into a personal situation on accident.

“Harry!” Zayn chirped, sliding over in the booth, “Take a seat! Mate, this is Harry.”

Louis nods, “We met... the other day.” Just to keep himself busy, Louis sipped at the lukewarm tea remaining in his mug.

Zayn looked between the two, noticing how they both averted eye-contact but still managed to take peeks at each other a little too often. “How exactly did you two meet?” he asked, truly interested because this little eye sex session was not happening in a cafe where children were drawing a few tables down from them.

“Um, I’m his, um, sisters teacher... sorta,” Harry stuttered. “You know how I told you I was working as a teacher’s assistant so I know what it’s like before I start a career with it?”

“Yeah...”

“She’s, um, Daisy’s in my class,” Harry finished quickly.

“The twins,” Louis piped up just to save Harry from  _complete_ embarrassment at his stuttering and mumbling and fidgeting, “had the brilliant idea of making themselves late so I would have to meet Harry.”

Laughing loudly, Zayn almost choked on the coffee he had been sipping at. “Oh jeez that’s just,” but Zayn didn’t finish because he started laughing again.

Harry let out a chuckle but then looked at Louis, mouthing a quick  _“thanks”_. Louis shrugged and mouthed back  _“no problem”_. Because, honestly, Louis would make up some ridiculous story every time Harry got embarrassed just to help the boy out. When Harry and Zayn had to leave to make some play they got tickets to, Harry grabbed Louis’ to-go tea and scribbled his number on it before he turned and left the cafe with Zayn.

* * *

 

That night, Louis clutched his phone with the number on the cup sitting on his bedside table. He read the number over and over again, enough to accidentally memorize it; he wondered if this is what he felt like to all those girls that got their crushes’ number and didn’t know what to do. But he couldn’t possibly have a crush on Harry- he didn’t  _know_ him. He didn’t know what to do. Was it too late to text him? Would he be sleeping by now?  _You aren’t a teenage girl with a crush, Louis! Just text the damn boy already!_  Louis listened to his conscience for once, typing in Harry’s number with a quick message.

**Alright, curly. What’s the catch? xx**

It was literally only seconds later when Louis’ phone buzzed where it sat on his chest.  ** _I don’t have the faintest idea about what you’re talking about. :P xo_**

**You gave me your number... but what’s the catch?**

**_No catch. Except you have to deal with me being able to text you whenever I want. xo_ **

Louis audibly scoffed, “He acts like that’s a bad thing,” he says to himself.

**And? I don’t have a life. Might even end up answering you.**

**_There’s a spider on your head. And that’s fine with me. ;) xo_ **

Louis quickly touched his head before he realized that he was alone in his bedroom and rolled his eyes at his foolishness.  **That wasn’t funny. :(** he texts.

**_Aw, I’m sorry, Lou. Let me make it up to you. xo_ **

**How?**

**_Coffee? xo_ **

**I don’t drink coffee....**

**_Tea? xo_ **

**Now you’re talking. :) xx**

**_Tomorrow? At the cafe around ten? xo_ **

**I shall accompany you then.**

**_Great! Well, I gotta grade some stuff then get to bed. Night Lou xoxo_ **

**Goodnight Harry. :) xox**

And Louis pretended it wasn’t weird that they were using “x”’s and “o”’s at the end of their texts.

* * *

 

The conversation was never-ending. Harry was extremely passionate about children, stressing to make his point about how  _fucking adorable_ they are. Louis was the same except about football, and Harry listened intently as Louis explained his past with football. Told him about how he played until he moved to the states for school, and Harry offered to play with him sometime although he’s shit at sports. Louis laughed and agreed anyway, sipping at his tea to try and hide the grin that was splitting across his face. Harry insisted on paying, saying Louis can pay the next time; Louis liked to know that a “next time” is in the future.

Even after they finished their tea and scones, they remained in the cafe for a long while. Every time a silence fell for longer than a few seconds, one of them would pipe up about some random topic and they’d happily fall into more conversation. Although, the silences weren’t very awkward. Louis quite liked just sitting there in the silence, tapping his fingers lightly on the tabletop and feeling the side of his foot occasionally bump into Harry’s. The waitress came around a short time later, setting two mugs on the table and saying that they were on the house from the manager; she said something about how Harry and Louis were the cutest couple they’d seen in a while.

Louis tried pretending that he wasn’t beaming, but it didn’t work very well. Harry was just the same, sipping at the tea the waitress had set in front of him. It was well past five when they stood up, stretching their legs after  _seven hours_ of sitting and chatting. When they got outside of the cafe, ready to part ways, Louis couldn’t just let it end like that. So he invited Harry to dinner, saying it was only fair since Harry bought him three cuppas. On the way to the small diner that Louis knew so well, Louis reached over and slipped his hand into Harry’s; Harry made no move to pull away and Louis relaxed.

* * *

 

It didn’t stop after that date.

Louis started going to Daisy’s school when the girls “accidentally” forgot their lunches. He would find Harry in the crowd of students going to lunch and then Harry would use his privileges to get Louis to eat with him in the teachers’ lounge. Louis got a nursing job at the Doncaster hospital, figuring he could see how he liked it so maybe he could be the next main doctor. When Louis couldn’t get a lunch break to see Harry at school, Harry would drop by that night to bring Louis some dinner. It was extremely cute and all, but Louis found himself texting the boy whenever he got the chance and seeing him whenever he could slip in even for just a few seconds- it was enough for Harry to squeeze Louis’ hand as they walked past each other.

Then there were the coffee/tea dates that went on for longer than they probably should. They were constantly together, and Louis loved it. That night, they would be going to the firework show in the park together; Harry had insisted on it. They set up a blanket in the damp grass and settled down with the picnic basket that Harry packed and brought; Louis laughed when he found Harry made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the shapes of stars. Harry blushed and hid his face in Louis’ neck, muttering a half-hearted “shuddup” that only made Louis laugh some more because he knew. He knew he couldn’t be anymore  _fond_ of this man-child.

“Hey, Hazza?” Louis whispered just as the first firework shot into the air, exploding into bright flash of red.

Harry barely turned his head but his eyes flickered to Louis, “Yeah, Lou?”

Louis kissed him. He actually finally did it. He just pressed his lips to Harry’s, twisting his hands into Harry’s shirt nervously. Harry smiled against his mouth, making their teeth bump, but they laughed it off and fell back on the blanket with Louis leaning over Harry, one hand planted on the ground beside Harry’s head. With a fond little smile on his mouth, Louis moved down again and pressed their lips together and it was honestly the best thing he had ever experience. He heard the people around them, “ooh”ing and “ahh”ing at the firework that went off and sprinkled colors all over the couple. Louis was shocked when Harry suddenly pushed him to the side and sat up, face aimed upwards.

“Wha-?” Louis blinked, wondering if maybe he really had crossed a barrier.

But then Harry reached over and intertwined their fingers, pulling Louis into the side of him so he was warmer than he had been ever since he got back to the UK a month ago. “Look,” Harry pointed, the smile on his face childish and Louis wanted to kick himself in the face and yell “get a grip, Louis Tomlinson” because this was getting out of hand.

“Oh,” Louis chuckled understandingly when the finale went off.

Colors flashed through the dark night sky, lighting up Harry’s face beautifully and Louis honestly couldn’t care less that he was missing the show. Because there was Harry, and Harry was the best show there ever could be to Louis. Louis knew he was gone, knew his self-control was dissolving and quickly. Harry just made it so easy for people to fond over him and it wasn’t fair, but it happened and Louis happily rested his head against Harry’s shoulder in order to force himself away from looking at Harry’s face like a creeper. He watched the last firework go off, one that was a pretty purple color and- once it dissolved completely- he pulled Harry’s lips back to attach to his own. And, yeah, that doctor job was looking a lot better.

* * *

 

“Boobear! There’s someone here to see you!” Jay called, studying the boy standing in her doorway. He shifted awkwardly under her stare and she laughed, “Sorry. I’m just protective of my children. I’m Ms. Tomlinson but, please, call me Jay.” She opened the door some more to let the boy step inside to shed his coat and gloves and scarf.

“I’m-,” he starts but Louis cuts him off.

“HARRY!” Louis rushes downstairs and jumps on the boy- Harry- with his legs tightly wrapped around his waist. Harry stumbles a bit but doesn’t fall, supporting Louis by his thighs.

With a chuckle, Harry says, “Hi to you, too.”

Louis pulls back, doesn’t even glance at his mother, and kisses Harry. Harry ends it after a few seconds though, conscious of Louis’ mum being in the room. “Hi,” Louis whispered quietly like the word was a secret between the two of them.

When Harry left for a conference, they both knew it would be lonely without each other to keep them company but Louis had a job now so Harry figured it wouldn’t be too bad. But then the conference ran over the originally planned three days and it turned into a week instead. As soon as he got back, his phone hadn’t been working and he didn’t yet know Louis’ number by heart so he called Zayn on a payphone and got Louis’ address from him. Louis thought he would come downstairs and see Zayn at the door, but he was presently surprised to find that his boyfriend-  _finally_ \- was standing in his doorway and wow he missed him.

Jay shifted uncomfortably, coughing into her fist. Louis looked over and blushed a little when he saw his mum standing there, hip cocked an eyebrow raised because Louis might’ve forgotten to mention to his mum that he had gotten himself a boy after all. Not just any boy, though, he got  _Harry_. Wonderful, amazing, kitten Harry that Louis happily claimed as his whenever he got the chance- the feeling was mutual. Harry was happy with Louis, happier than he had ever been and all he wanted to do was hold Louis to him and never let him go; Louis was his and Harry loved saying it.

“Mum,” Louis coughed, dropping his legs from Harry’s waist. “This is my boyfriend, Harry Styles,” he introduced.

“I see,” Jay nodded slowly, scanning over Harry again. “And when were you going to tell me about this handsome young man?”

“Soon,” Louis said quickly, “I swear.”

“Alright, then. It’s lovely to meet you, Harry. You must be the reason Louis’ always stealing his sisters’ lunches so he can take them to the girls at school...” The look Louis gave his mum was absolutely murderous; Harry laughed and turned to Louis with this knowing smile on his face that Louis both wanted to punch and kiss off.

“Oh  _really_ now?”

“We’re gonna go upstairs now,” Louis grabbed Harry’s wrist and dragged him away before his mum could humiliate him some more.

Harry glanced around Louis’ room, wondering what all the boxes were for and the suitcase that still contained all of the clothes Louis must’ve brought with him. The walls were bare, but the bed had a nice, colorful comforter on it. For a while, the two settled down in Louis’ bed and just talked and cuddled in attempt to make up for a week spent apart. Harry carded his fingers through Louis’ hair, tiredly humming since he literally came straight from the airport to Louis’ home and he hadn’t slept on the plane, too stressed to even try. Louis was drifting off, listening to Harry explain how his hotel was a lot better than he thought it would be- at least, that’s what Louis was pretty sure he was talking about.

A few moments of silence passed then Harry asked, “Are you staying here? Or are you going back to America?” Louis felt himself tense up; he had thought about it a lot and he knew that he couldn’t go back to America anymore. Not only just because of Harry, though- that would be mental of him. But his family wasn’t in the best financial condition at the moment not to mention there was a job being put in his hands that pays really well, as Louis had been told.

“I’m staying,” Louis whispered, trying to make himself sound sleepy so Harry would just stop talking, cuddle him, and then they could talk about it in the morning.

Harry kissed the top of Louis’ head, a smile on his lips, “Perfect,” he whispered almost to himself.

* * *

 

A month passed then two then three and then all of the months just sort of blended together like the perfect fairytale. Louis moved all of his things out of his crummy American apartment to his new flat that was a lot bigger and had a view of the biggest park in Doncaster. Quickly, Louis had moved up from nurse to one of the main doctors in the Doncaster hospital. And, he had to admit, he was making a lot of money from the job. Not to mention he got every Tuesday, Thursday, and weekends off unless there was an emergency and Louis had to rush to the hospital to help. The few times he had to do that were so he could help with the women giving birth; the other main doctor had panicked, which was very unprofessional and he ended up getting fired- they’re currently looking for a replacement so Louis isn’t the  _only_ doctor in the hospital.

Harry helped him move into his new 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom flat that was the perfect size... for him and Harry. One night, Harry slept over and Louis had his best mates (Zayn, Liam, newly Niall, and Stan) help him move all of Harry’s stuff out of Harry’s one-room flat and into his own all while Harry was asleep. When Harry woke up the morning, he was momentarily shocked speechless to see his minimal furniture, clothes, dishes, and everything else in Louis’ place. The shock had passed quickly, though, and Harry was overwhelmingly happy. Harry had jumped on Louis, muttering incoherently about having to get used to Louis’ bed. It wasn’t there first time together, but it was their first time in  _their_ apartment and  _their_ space.

Louis’ sisters fell in love with Harry along with his mum and even his stepfather took a liking to the boy. Louis spent a dinner with Harry’s family, loving his older sister and his mum, who welcomed him in with open arms. They got a cat and a puppy (cat for Harry, puppy for Louis), Harry became an official teacher of children ages 5 to 7, Louis is a successful doctor, and they are perfectly happy with each other. In the end, it all came down to Daisy and Phoebe, though. If those two girls hadn’t made themselves late for school just so they made sure Louis met Harry,  _certain things might not have happened._

To say the least, Louis and Harry lived happily ever after.


End file.
